May 1st ~ What Have YOU Done to Get Debt FREE ?

One of the biggest reasons for creating MommyLuvs2save was to create a community of moms and dads who want to help their family save money when buying essentials in order to free up money for debt repayment. My own family has paid off over $115,500 in consumer debt including credit cards, student loan debt and 2 vehicles. I am a teacher at heart. I want to use the skills that I have learned to help YOU ditch debt. I want to encourage each of you in your efforts so that one day you can feel the freedom of being debt free. I’m not quite there yet either (we still have a mortgage) so I need encouragement as well

It can be very difficult to pay down debt. There are many temptations to spend money. We live in a culture that encourages debt and spending. In addition, expenses come up and there never seems to be any extra money for paying down debt. I want to urge each of you to participate in a challenge. Just leave a comment about one positive step you’ve taken for your family each day. Did you eat in instead of going out? Did you save money at the grocery store? Did you pay extra on your credit card? Leave a comment below and we will cheer one another on every day and every step of the way.

The challenge is to leave a comment about what YOU have done to work on getting debt free each day. One winner will be chosen to win a $50 Amazon gift card at the end of each month. To participate in the challenge you must comment on at least 10 posts during the month.

* I will also be sharing my progress from the day prior.

My Progress: It was a no spend day for us yesterday. We had a good day together, but once again, it started too early. I was awakened at 5am by the girls screaming and crying. Why, you ask?? Apparently Olivia needed a tissue. You seriously would have thought that their beds were on fire. Not only that, but they did it twice. I guess Olivia developed a little sniffles during the night because she was fine when she went to bed.

Needless to say, I didn’t do any shopping. We did go on over to my sister’s house for dinner. I warned her about Olivia’s sniffles but she said to come over anyway. The kids had a great time playing together (they always do). While I was there, I helped my sis sign up for her FREE Cardstore card (still available for you guys too) and for a few free samples. I always try to help her snag a few freebies when I can.

I did earn 23 Swagbucks and I completed 2 online surveys. I was pretty tired from my early wake up service courtesy of the twins or I would have done more. I went to sleep early (for me). I’m hoping that they feel better today, but it’s too early to tell right now.

I got my FREE bottle of Bayer aspirin yesterday.I also got 6 coupons for FREE Voskos Greek Yogurt. I also got a free laundry detergent sample. Woo Hoo! I love freebies. I’m SO excited that it’s FINALLY May. We have 10 days until settlement for the old house. We will then be back to 1 mortgage and I can’t wait.

What did you do ? I hope you had a blessed day. Leave a comment You could be the April winner. Wow ! You could make 2012 your year !

I am a mom who has paid off $111,500 in debt in less than 4 years by saving money at the stores and putting all of our extra $ on debt. Subscribe to my FREE Daily Newsletter so that you can get my free updates and NEVER miss a deal. Thanks for visiting!

Comments

Yesterday was a spend day for me, since I hadn’t been to the grocery store in over 2 wks and I desperately needed to stock up. Saved over $60 with my card and Qs, which was almost 40% of my bill. Since DH got paid, it was also paying out of the bills. OUCH! Never fun to see what we’re left with, but I feel blessed that we have the money to pay them. There was a time we didn’t have the money, so God is good and does provide

I also stopped by Office Max because my Max Perks were expiring. I was able to score 2 reams of printer paper for $3!

I had a no spend day yesterday and got several freebies in the mail. I also received my ELF makeup/cosmetics order from the free shipping day so a bag full of loot for $15!
Also – we planted a few plants we picked up at the local gardening center with coupons, planted them and then decided they really did not work well, so we yanked them out, returned/exchanged them and got some we like better. Mental note – stare at the plants in pots for a full day before planting to ensure you actually do like them!

Karen, sorry the girls are in the wake you up screaming phase. I have to say, 5 is a funky age for kids.(Brain development stuff,I think) Also, I would be sure to pray over there room.

Yesterday, I signed up for EBAY and paypal, that opens a a whole new world. ( I did sell $17 worth of books to Powells books, they are going to put the credit on paypal.) I still don’t understand all the fees. But I’m determined to get rid of all this stuff bogging us down.

I did the Drugstore deals and my husband and I worked in the garden for a few hours.
The deer, however, eat most of our veggies, flowers and grapes. Life in the mountains, I guess

Yesterday was a no spend day for us. All meals were at home. I received samples in the mail from pantene and from prilosec. Love getting free samples in the mail!! I can’t believe that May is here already! When you let us know that your house sold, May 11 seemed so far away and it is already almost here!! Congrats on getting through the two mortgages and down to one! Yeah!

Yesterday was a no spend day for us. We spent a good chunck of the day cleaning and organizing. I went to Target so far today but only purchased great coupon deals. So proud of myself. Target is one of those stores I can suddenly “need” to have something that is not on my list.

we don’t have a target near us–about 45 minutes away is the closest. Is there deals you can’t get other places?? Is it worth the research and the drive??Do you get groceries or toiletries or what type of items when you collect the deals there? Thanks

I envy the yogurt for free coupons! A no spend day for us here, which is always good news. I have a high value coupon for our favoirte pickles, but I am afraid if I go to the store I will buy something else!

We had a fun, frugal night last night. My husband called and said he had to work late so I took the kids to a park, then Toys-R-Us, then Chick-fil-a. The park of course was free. My kids aren’t in the “buy it for me” stage so they love looking at Toys-R-Us and playing with the train table and they leave telling me things they might like for their birthdays in July, and we had free coupons for a sandwich and kids meals at Chick-fil-a. My in-laws know one of the owners and he frequently hooks them up with free coupons which they sometimes pass on to us. Great evening!

It was a spend day for me as well. I had to get some groceries–our fridge and stuff were bare and I only got about half of what I needed. Walmart is too crazy a place to do my shopping! I ordered a few wallpaper samples from Home Depot that I’m going to turn into wall art for my bathroom. That was only $3 and I have the frames. Pretty excited about that. I placed 2 orders at YestoCarrots using my vouchers. After the vouchers, each order was a little over $10, but I got a lot of stuff and can’t wait to get it! I got baby girl a bunch of sleepers and clothes for a quarter each from a fellow mom….she so badly needed sleepers so I was very relieved! Sold an extra stethoscope for $20 to add to Sean’s Cuba Scuba fund.

It was also a no spend day for me yesterday. I packed lunch for work and we stopped at home and had a quick dinner before tumbling class. Then I brought a snack and water for after class. I spent time last night working on the May budget and setting goals for the month. I am going to try a no spnd month for May. Wish me luck. I am also going to try to get by with $200 for groceries for this month. I think I can do it. I need to do some meal planning and get the coupons together for this weekend. Safeway has the $10/75 coupon out this week that I want to take advantage of.

Yesterday was a no spend day for me. Went over to a friend’s house for supper with her and her husband. They’re also trying to save money right now, which makes it so nice. We always have a great time hanging out while spending little to no money and she and I often swap money saving ideas we’re trying. We get to feel creative instead of cheap. Redeemed points for a $25 Safeway gift card from mypoints and received my $5 amazon.com gift card code from Swagbucks that I put in for a couple weeks back. Hoping to keep the no spend trend going for the rest of the week, but I may have to make a trip to the grocery store somewhere in there.

Reviewed last month’s budget – overspent in one area, but did pay off our sears card. Worked on the budget for May – need $350 to pay off another charge card. This will be a no spend stay at home month. Planning a yard sale to earn the money to pay off the charge card. stayed at home yesterday, ate home made meals.

We ate lunch and dinner at home. We did spend $4.79 at McD’s for a breakfast sandwich after my grandson’s surgery on the way home. We had to be there so early, we were so hungry and it was an hour home so we stopped. Both lunch and dinner were leftovers. Earned 16 Swagbucks. Reviewed May Budget. We have one bill to pay off in May that is a little over $300. so we are cleaning out excess junk to sell to cover that bill. Still have to make grocery list and clip coupons.

Well this paying down the debt thing is definately not fun but it pays off in the end when another bill gets paid. We are making our last credit card payment of 150 this month and are then card free. We can then apply that money to pay off the remainder of the emergency room visit when we thought my son broke his arm. I am a nurse and the hospital NICU has been booming so I worked two extra 12 hour shifts for time and a half and this should just about complete our roof fund so we can put it on for cash. We have all the family and friends to help install. My husband has not found work, but has been advertising his mechanic and handyman skills. He received 3 small jobs and a house painting job which allowed him to get the truck shocks and frame repaired for cash. The garden is planted and I snagged 90 canning jars with new seals and lids for 25 dollars when i saw the card an elderly lady posted about selling her supplies. Life is good and I believe we are approaching the top of the hill, but would feel real good to coast on that other side for a while. Goal for next week: daughter wants to go to a horse riding church camp in june but they only allow 16 to register-first come first serve. Must earn money to try to get her registered, have told her no too many times. Have a great week all.